Department for Transport

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask His Majesty's Government what was their expenditure in real terms on road maintenance each year since 2000for which figures are available.

Lord Davies of Gower: The table summarises maintenance expenditure by road class, adjusted for inflation, in England, from April 2005 onwards. Road classFinancial Year Ending (FYE)Structural Treatment [Note 1, 2]Routine and other Treatment [Note 1, 2]Highways Maintenance Policy, Planning and Strategy [Note 2]Total [Note 2]Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2006728457[z]1,185Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2007681466[z]1,148Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2008646513[z]1,159Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2009633530[z]1,164Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2010 [Note 4]1,166477[z]1,643Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2011579375[z]954Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2012595387[z]982Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2013513332[z]845Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2014620306[z]926Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2015864270[z]1,135Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2016790305[z]1,095Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2017716292[z]1,007Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2018870287[z]1,157Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2019744299[z]1,043Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2020777283[z]1,060Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2021763297[z]1,059Trunk motorway and trunk 'A' roads [Note 3]FYE 2022887285[z]1,172Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20062,4391,6643894,492Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20072,3151,5964284,338Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20082,2651,7214194,406Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20092,2131,3153903,918Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 2010 [Note 4]2,5021,7744214,696Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20112,3861,6733904,449Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20122,3131,5733454,231Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20132,0221,5283393,888Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20142,1191,4963583,973Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20152,5391,3153234,178Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20162,4891,2463694,103Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20172,5071,1983804,085Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20182,4421,2433634,047Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20192,7921,1163514,259Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20202,6611,1034034,167Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20212,6501,0923994,141Local authority roads [Note 6, 7, 8]FYE 20222,4841,1535324,168Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2006745552[z]1,297Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2007690487[z]1,177Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2008616608[z]1,224Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2009601370[z]971Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2010 [Note 4]779686[z]1,464Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2011774565[z]1,339Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2012874601[z]1,474Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2013688581[z]1,270Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2014750608[z]1,358Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2015976426[z]1,401Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2016927464[z]1,391Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 20171,192415[z]1,607Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 20181,047477[z]1,524Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 20191,069359[z]1,428Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 20201,021326[z]1,347Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2021973321[z]1,295Of which: Local authority motorway and 'A' roadsFYE 2022852360[z]1,212Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20061,6941,112[z]2,806Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20071,6251,108[z]2,733Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20081,6491,114[z]2,763Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20091,612945[z]2,557Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 2010 [Note 4]1,7231,088[z]2,811Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20111,6121,108[z]2,720Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20121,439973[z]2,412Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20131,333946[z]2,280Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20141,369889[z]2,258Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20151,564890[z]2,453Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20161,561782[z]2,343Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20171,315783[z]2,098Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20181,394766[z]2,160Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20191,723758[z]2,480Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20201,640777[z]2,417Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20211,676771[z]2,447Of which: Local authority minor roads ('B', 'C' and 'U')FYE 20221,632793[z]2,42

Roads: Accidents

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people died as result of road accidents in England in the most recent period of five years for which complete figures are available; of these, (1) how many deaths occurred on roads where there was a speed limit in effect of 40 miles per hour or below, and (2) how many where no such speed restriction was in force.

Lord Davies of Gower: The overall number of reported road fatalities in England in the last 5 years, those occurring on roads of which the permanent speed limit was 40 miles per hour or under, and those occurring on roads of which the permanent speed limit was above 40 miles per hour are shown in the table. YearFatalitiesFatalities where the speed limit was 40 miles per hour (mph) or underFatalities where the speed limit was above 40 miles per hour (mph)20181,52173179020191,48972576420201,24659864820211,32964468520221,443684759

Roads: Finance

Baroness O'Neill of Bexley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of (1) awarding local authorities five-year highways funding allocations, and (2) moving highways funding currently allocated to Transport for London towards London borough councils.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Government agrees that there is a compelling case to provide local authorities with long-term funding certainty, enabling them to plan and carry out their highway maintenance responsibilities in the most efficient way. On 4 October, the Prime Minister announced a long-term multi-year funding uplift of £8.3 billion for local highway maintenance through the Network North plan, which will provide the long-term funding that local highway authorities need. Further details were published on 17 November on https://www.gov.uk/government/news/8-billion-boost-to-repair-roads-and-back-drivers. A share of the £8.3 billion will go to London, and the Government intends to allocate this directly to both Transport for London and the individual London boroughs.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking toencourage District Network Operators to make the process of grid connection and upgrade easier for fleets installing EV charging infrastructure; and whether they have any plans to expand Project Rapid to focus on additional transport hubs such as airports, shared depots and truck rest areas.

Lord Davies of Gower: As set out in the Powering Up Britain Energy Security Plan, and subsequent Prime Minister’s speech on net zero on 20 September, Government is committed to reducing grid connection timescales for EV charging and other projects. The forthcoming Government and Ofgem Connections Action Plan will set out action to accelerate grid connection timescales for all customers including demand projects, such as EV chargepoint infrastructure. In addition, the Plan for Drivers published in October 2023, committed to a review of grid connections, specifically focused on EV infrastructure. The Government has no plans to extend the scope of the Rapid Charging Fund beyond the strategic road network. The Government is planning to publish a consultation on the Rapid Charging Fund shortly.

Department of Health and Social Care

General Practitioners: Finance

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have torestore the balance in funding between primary and secondary care to ensure primary care has the resources to train, recruit and retain GPs.

Lord Markham: Funding for General Practice and Primary Care Networks has increased to £11.5 billion in 2023/24.The Government remains committed to growing the general practitioner (GP) workforce and number of doctors in general practice and is determined to deliver this as soon as possible. We are working with NHS England to increase the GP workforce in England. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice.NHS England has made available several retention schemes available to boost the general practice workforce. This includes the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the National GP Induction and Refresher, the Locum Support Scheme, and the Supporting Mentors Scheme.To boost recruitment, we have increased the number of GP training places. Last year, we saw 4,032 doctors accepting a place on GP training, up from 2,671 in 2014. The number of training places will rise to 6,000 by 2031/32, with the first 500 new places available from September 2025.

Paxlovid

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they aretaking to ensure that eligible patients will have access to Paxlovid this winter.

Lord Markham: The Department procured stock of Paxlovid during the pandemic and has set up a distribution network to both primary and secondary care in England so that all eligible patients can access the treatment in line with recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).NICE is in the process of developing recommendations for the National Health Service on the potential expanded use of Paxlovid. NICE published final draft guidance that recommends expanded use of Paxlovid in August 2023. Following discussions between the Department, NHS England and NICE, NICE has recently consulted on an NHS England proposal to vary the funding requirement that normally applies three months after the publication of NICE guidance to allow a phased rollout to all eligible patients, considering the capacity of the NHS to implement NICE’s recommendations in full.

Carers

Lord Laming: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Carers UK reportState of Caring 2023 — The impact of caring on: health, published in November; and what steps they intend to take in response.

Lord Markham: We are grateful to Carers UK for having undertaken the research for this report, and we recognise that caring is not always easy or straightforward. There is a wide variety of caring circumstances, experiences and needs among unpaid carers, and the enormous contribution of unpaid carers is reflected throughout Next Steps to Put People at the Heart of Care, published on GOV.UK in April 2023 in an online-only format.On 24 October 2023, we announced our £42.6 million Accelerating Reform Fund to support innovation and scaling up in adult social care, and to kick-start a change in services provided to support unpaid carers.We are also investing at least £2.3 billion extra funding a year in expanding and transforming mental health services in England by March 2024. This extra funding will enable an extra two million people, including unpaid carers, to be treated by mental health services within the National Health Service by March 2024.We know that breaks and respite are important for unpaid carers. This year, £327 million from the Better Care Fund has been earmarked to provide short breaks and respite services and additional advice and support to carers, together with a small number of additional local authority duties.

Cystic Fibrosis: Drugs

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government how manypeople are currently in receipt of modular drugs through the NHS for the treatment of Cystic Fibrosis.

Lord Markham: Data from the UK Cystic Fibrosis Registry shows that, in December 2022, a total of 7,950 people with cystic fibrosis in the United Kingdom were taking a cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator modulator, of whom 6,846 were taking Kaftrio.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Alzheimer's Research UK reportTipping Point: The Future of Dementia, published in September, what steps they are taking to support the implementation of new dementia diagnostics such as blood tests.

Lord Markham: In anticipation of any new Alzheimer’s treatments that might achieve a licence and subsequently be determined by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to be safe, clinically and cost effective for routine use in the National Health Service, NHS England has stepped up and accelerated preparation for implementation.A dedicated programme team has been established and is working across the NHS and with industry partners and patient groups to make sure that the NHS is planning ahead, understanding the opportunities, choices and key decisions that will need to be taken in the weeks and months ahead to enable the roll out of any NICE recommended treatments.This includes developing and implementing new care pathways that both rely on current diagnostic and treatment monitoring options, and consider those identified through expert clinical advice and horizon scanning as having the potential for routine NHS use in the future.

Hepatitis: Disease Control

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 28 March (HL6760), what steps they have taken in support ofpreparation for the maintenance phase of hepatitis elimination.

Lord Markham: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) supports and monitors progress towards the World Health Organisation goal of eliminating hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a major public health threat by 2030. As part of disease surveillance, UKHSA monitors HCV prevention, testing, diagnoses and treatment in England.Work to support the elimination maintenance phase is currently being developed with multiple stakeholders including NHS England Specialised Commissioning, integrated care boards, the Department, and UKHSA.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Alzheimer's Research UK reportTipping Point: The Future of Dementia, published in September, what steps they are taking toimprove access to dementia diagnosis technologies, such as PET scans and lumbar punctures.

Lord Markham: NHS England has established a dedicated national programme team which is working in partnership with other national agencies and with local health systems to co-ordinate the preparations for the potential roll out of new treatments for use in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s disease. These plans assume that, if these new treatments are approved by the regulators, significant additional diagnostic capacity, including amyloid PET-CT, lumbar puncture and MRI, will be needed both to identify patients who are most able to benefit and to provide important safety monitoring for potential adverse effects during treatment.NHS England is also working with partner agencies to support and inform further research into other diagnostic modalities, including blood-based biomarker and digital tests, which will help improve identification and management of Alzheimer’s disease.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what action is being taken to reduce waiting times in A&E departments in NHS England, following the publication of A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions figures for October which found that nearly 30 per cent of patients waited four hours or more to be assessed and nearly 45,000 patients waited for more than 12 hours for a bed following admission.

Lord Markham: Under our Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services, we are taking a range of measures to improve patient flow through hospital and reduce waiting times in accident and emergency departments. These include the delivery of 5,000 more staffed, permanent beds this year compared to 2022/23 plans, supported by £1 billion of dedicated funding. This is alongside a further £1.6 billion of funding over two years to support the National Health Service and local authorities to ensure timely and effective discharge from hospital. We are also improving hospital discharge processes by establishing ‘Care transfer hubs’ in every hospital ahead of winter, alongside scaling up the use of virtual wards by an additional 3,000 beds, with over 10,000 beds now available nationally. A copy of the plan is attached.Attachment (pdf, 636.3KB)

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the average waiting time in accident and emergency (1) in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, and (2) across all NHS trusts in England, in each year since 2000.

Lord Markham: Official data on accident and emergency waiting times is collected and published by NHS England including the number and proportion of patient attendances that meet the national four-hour accident and emergency access standard and is published monthly. The latest published data from NHS England shows that the Royal Cornwall NHS Trust achieved 78.5% of patient attendances within the four-hour standard in October 2023. Some information on median waiting time data is collected by NHS England, however this remains experimental data subject to quality issues and is not intended for official performance monitoring use.

Mental Health Services: Refugees

Lord Stone of Blackheath: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherthey are planning to provide mental health supportto the descendants of Pontian refugeeswho suffered a genocide between 1914 and 1923,as recognised by the International Association of Genocide Scholars.

Lord Markham: Mental health support is available to anyone in England experiencing mental ill health including as a result of these past events.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Alzheimer's Research UK reportTipping Point: The Future of Dementia, published in September, whether they have any plans with theNHS to conduct a national clinical trial of blood tests to support the development of methods to promote the diagnosis of dementia at different stages of its development.

Lord Markham: There are no current plans to conduct a national clinical trial of blood tests. The National Health Service is working in partnership with the Government established Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission, which has a national leadership role working with academic and industry partners to discover, validate and operationalise a suite of clinically actionable and decision-enabling biomarkers. Alongside the very welcome linked investments being made in research by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and charities, it is hoped that validated Alzheimer’s blood tests will become available for use in front line NHS care in the next few years.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Alzheimer's Research UK reportTipping Point: The Future of Dementia, published in September, what steps they are taking to address the finding in that report that "38 per cent of over-65s in England estimated to be living with dementia never get a diagnosis", potentially rendering them ineligible for any treatment that is approved.

Lord Markham: Diagnosis of dementia is vital to ensure that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care and support that can help them to live well with the condition and remain independent for as long as possible.In December 2022, the recovery of the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7% was included in the National Health Service priorities and operational planning guidance as part of the refined mental health objectives for 2023/24. This reinforces the importance of dementia as a key priority for NHS England and provides a clear direction for integrated care boards to support delivery of timely diagnoses within systems.NHS England continues to monitor the monthly dementia diagnosis rate and analyse trends at national, regional and integrated commissioning board level.The estimated dementia diagnosis rate has been increasing throughout 2023 and in October reached 64.5%, the highest rate since the introduction of the primary care dementia publication in April 2022.

Sciensus

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to require the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to publish the report of its investigation into the medicine manufacturing unit of Sciensus.

Lord Markham: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not routinely publish a specific report but information which is held in inspection reports and internal review documents is subject to release in accordance with the 2001 Freedom of Information Act. While the company is subject to ongoing regulatory action, and any decision by the police regarding possible enforcement action remains pending, MHRA regards this information to be subject to certain exemptions within the Act which preclude its release. Once this action is complete, MHRA will consider any requests on their merit and in line with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.

Royal Marsden Cancer Charity: Charitable Donations

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment it has made of the governance arrangements at the Royal Marsden Foundation Trust following reported concerns by external auditors about a £9 million donation it made to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

Lord Markham: Following this payment by Royal Marsden being brought to our attention by the auditors, the Government did not provide retrospective special payment approval for the grant.The Department and NHS England are taking steps to recommunicate expectations to trusts that they are required to seek approval ahead of time, with the circumstances of each case being considered on a case-by-case basis.

Sciensus: Licensing

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the partial suspension of Sciensus's manufacturing licence.

Lord Markham: The partial suspension will remain in place until the company instigates measures to ensure the manufacturing error cannot not re-occur and we continue to monitor the company’s progress. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has not been informed that the regulatory action has had any deleterious impact on patients receiving their medicines.

Incontinence and Urology: Health Services

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, toindicate to NHS England that urological conditions and continence services should be afforded a higher priority in the future planning of services.

Lord Markham: The Department has not indicated to NHS England that that urological conditions and continence services should be afforded a higher priority in the future planning of services Integrated care boards are responsible for the commissioning of health services in their local health economy. NHS England's Excellence in Continence Care guidance, published in July 2018), promotes equal access to services and treatment for all.

HIV Infection: Women

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that women have control over their sexual and reproductive health decisions, and are empowered to negotiate condom use, access PrEP, and make informed choices to prevent HIV transmission.

Lord Markham: We remain committed to improving sexual and reproductive health in England, including for women from all groups.The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach in England to drive forward progress and achieve our goal to end new HIV transmissions, AIDS and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. A key principle of our approach is to ensure that all populations benefit equally from improvements made in HIV outcomes, including women.As part of the HIV Action Plan, the Department is investing over £3.5 million from 2021-2024 to deliver the National HIV Prevention Programme, a nationally co-ordinated programme of HIV prevention work that is designed to complement locally commissioned prevention activities in areas of high HIV prevalence and for communities at risk of HIV transmission, with a particular focus on black African women. HIV Prevention England (HPE) aims to improve knowledge and understanding of HIV transmission and reduce stigma within affected communities through the delivery of public campaigns such as National HIV Testing Week, and evidence-based HIV prevention interventions in partnership with local organisations and charities, including women-led organisations.HPE works with a wide range of models and their network of influencers. As part of HPE campaigns, a range of people share their stories and experiences on HIV, STIs and sexual health this includes women and other people who are likely to be recognisable to specific demographics.Since 2013, the Government has mandated local authorities in England to commission comprehensive open access to most sexual health services, including free and confidential HIV testing, and provision of the HIV prevention drug PrEP through the Public Health Grant, funded at £3.4 billion overall in 2022/23. It is for individual local authorities to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need and to commission the service lines that best suit their population.In 2022, we published the Women’s Health Strategy for England setting out our 10-year ambitions and actions to improve health for women and girls.

HIV Infection: Women

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the underlying factors that contribute to higher HIV transmission rates among marginalised groups of women, such as sex workers, transgender women, and immigrants.

Lord Markham: We remain committed to improving sexual and reproductive health in England, including for women from all groups.The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach in England to drive forward progress and achieve our goal to end new HIV transmissions, AIDS and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. A key principle of our approach is to ensure that all populations benefit equally from improvements made in HIV outcomes, including women.As part of the HIV Action Plan, the Department is investing over £3.5 million from 2021-2024 to deliver the National HIV Prevention Programme, a nationally co-ordinated programme of HIV prevention work that is designed to complement locally commissioned prevention activities in areas of high HIV prevalence and for communities at risk of HIV transmission, with a particular focus on black African women. HIV Prevention England (HPE) aims to improve knowledge and understanding of HIV transmission and reduce stigma within affected communities through the delivery of public campaigns such as National HIV Testing Week, and evidence-based HIV prevention interventions in partnership with local organisations and charities, including women-led organisations.HPE works with a wide range of models and their network of influencers. As part of HPE campaigns, a range of people share their stories and experiences on HIV, STIs and sexual health this includes women and other people who are likely to be recognisable to specific demographics.Since 2013, the Government has mandated local authorities in England to commission comprehensive open access to most sexual health services, including free and confidential HIV testing, and provision of the HIV prevention drug PrEP through the Public Health Grant, funded at £3.4 billion overall in 2022/23. It is for individual local authorities to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need and to commission the service lines that best suit their population.In 2022, we published the Women’s Health Strategy for England setting out our 10-year ambitions and actions to improve health for women and girls.

Home Office

Retail Trade: Crimes of Violence

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address abuse faced by retail employees and ensure their safety and wellbeing.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: On 23 October, the National Police Chiefs Council launched their Retail Crime Action Plan; which includes a police commitment to prioritise attending the scene of retail crime instances where violence has been used; where an offender has been detained; or where evidence needs to be promptly secured and can only be done in person by police personnel.The Government also took a significant step and legislated to introduce a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This ensures the public facing nature of a victim’s role will be considered an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing for assault offences.The National Retail Crime Steering Group has published practical resources (https://brc.org.uk/nrcsg-against-shop-worker-abuse-and-violence) to assist with the reporting of crime, employee safety, and guidance on how to effectively share information with the police, including how to make use of Victim Impact Statements to ensure the full impact of a crime can be considered by the court.

Undocumented Migrants: Deportation

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Murray of Blidworth on 7 June (HL Deb col 1439), whether they can now provide details on (1) how the scheme under section 2 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 will work in practice, and (2) the arrangements for implementing provisions relating to the section 4 application form, including any changes that may have been made to that form.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: As is standard practice for any legislation, commencement of the wider measures in the Illegal Migration Act, will be implemented in due course.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Gaza: Politics and Government

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with international partners, including the governments of the US and Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority, on post-war scenarios for the administration of Gaza.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Since Hamas' abhorrent terror attacks on 7 October, the Prime Minister and former Foreign Secretary have spoken with counterparts from over 20 countries, including the US and Jordan, as part of extensive diplomatic efforts to sustain the prospect of peace and stability in the Middle East. As the Prime Minister has said, there is no scenario where Hamas can be allowed to control Gaza again and we agree with the US that a long-term presence of Israeli security forces within Gaza would not be a good outcome for either Israelis or Palestinians. We want to see moves toward a peaceful Palestinian leadership as part of a negotiated settlement between Israel and Palestine, based on 1967 borders. We believe that negotiations will only succeed when they are conducted between Israelis and Palestinians, supported by the international community.

Hamas: Gender Based Violence and Sexual Offences

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October; and what discussions they have had with (1) other governments, and (2) the United Nations and other international organisations and officials, on the basis of this assessment.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are aware of the deeply concerning reports of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October.  It is vital that reports of sexual violence are investigated independently, rigorously, and sensitively to avoid re-traumatisation, that perpetrators are held to account, and that survivors receive holistic support.  We continue to engage regularly with partners, including the United Nations, to urge that all reports of sexual violence in conflict are investigated, that survivors have access to specialized services and justice, and that parties abide by international humanitarian and human rights law.

Myanmar: Humanitarian Situation and Security

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the security and humanitarian situation in northern Myanmar, in particular in Shan State.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are aware of the escalation of the conflict in Myanmar's Northern Shan, which has now expanded to the Northwest, Southeast, and Rakhine State. UK humanitarian funds are supporting local civil society organisations in Myanmar, including Shan State to help people who have been affected by the conflict, primarily through cash assistance. We are monitoring the situation closely and have amended our travel advice accordingly to advise against all travel to these areas.

Nuclear Weapons: Testing

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in advance of the next UN General Assembly in December, they will reconsider their opposition to the UN Resolution Addressing the Legacy of Nuclear Weapons: Providing Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation to Member States Affected by the Use or Testing of Nuclear Weapons, given that 171 countries supported the Resolution and only North Korea, France and Russia opposed it alongside the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government was not able to support this resolution as it was inconsistent with our position on the legacy of nuclear tests. However, the UK will continue to take a constructive approach to negotiations on any such resolutions at next year's United Nations General Assembly. The UK recognises significant efforts to address the impact of historic nuclear testing. We supports the call made in this resolution to all governments and international organisations with relevant expertise to consider giving remedial assistance in affected areas.

Department for Business and Trade

Metals: Recycling

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the quality and consistency of short scrap metal to meet increased demand for future electric arc furnace steelmaking.

Lord Offord of Garvel: The Government is aware the sector's transition to electric arc furnaces will mean scrap steel becomes an increasingly vital material source for UK steelmaking. The UK has an abundance of ferrous scrap and a strong scrap sector. Steel producers are increasing their engagement with scrap metal dealers to secure future supply. Government officials continue to closely monitor the development of the scrap market and the Government will consider its options if evidence emerges that the market is failing to respond effectively.

Delivery Services: Children

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to tackle the issue of underage children working as delivery app riders.

Lord Offord of Garvel: In the UK children’s employment is regulated through national and local legislation. In England the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (amended 1998), along with byelaws made by local authorities, prohibits employment of children aged under 14, and places restrictions on the hours and types of work those aged 14 and over can undertake.We engage in regular conversation with businesses who utilise the service of delivery drivers. This department continues to work closely with business to ensure that risks are minimised by ensuring business has robust onboarding systems and processes in place, to cover matters such as age verification.

Mining: Environment Protection

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the environmental duties and responsibilities of British mining companies operating overseas.

Lord Offord of Garvel: Last year my Department published the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy to accelerate domestic production, collaborate with international partners, and enhance international markets to strengthen supply chains.The Strategy commits to boost global environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance to support a more transparent, responsible, and sustainable critical minerals and mining industry. The UK is playing a leading role in international efforts to drive up ESG performance through its bilateral and multilateral engagements, including the Minerals Security Partnership and Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance.The UK has re-affirmed its commitment as a member of the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), advocating for better governance of the extractives and critical minerals sectors. At COP 15 the UK, along with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States, signed up to the Canada-led Sustainable Critical Minerals Alliance, committing to promote high environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards and net zero mining practices, employing a nature forward approach.The UK Government is supporting the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to rationalise the range of existing mining sustainability standards and bring them together.

Treasury

Cost of Living

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support people struggling to pay their bills given the increased cost of living.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government announced further policies at Autumn Statement 2023 to support the most vulnerable: From 1 April 2024, the Government is increasing the NLW by 9.8% for 2.7 million low paid workers. Local Housing Allowance rates will rise to the 30th percentile of local market rents in April 2024 for 1.6 million households. The government will also uprate all working age benefits in full by September 2023 CPI of 6.7%, benefitting 5.5 million households in 2024-25. This brings the total support over 2022-2025 to help households with the high cost of living to £104 billion – an average of £3,700 per UK household. As part of the Government’s long-term plan to grow the economy and reform the tax system, employees will see their main National Insurance Contribution (NICs) rate cut from 12% to 10% from January 2024 onwards, and the main rate of Class 4 NICs for the self-employed will be reduced from 9% to 8% from April 2024. This is a tax cut worth over £9bn per year, the largest ever cut to employee and self-employed National Insurance.

Iron and Steel: Carbon Emissions

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of introducing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to the steel industry for the purposes of decarbonisation through a tariff on carbon intensive products.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The government has recently consulted on potential future measures to mitigate carbon leakage risks, including the potential for a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The consultation received more than 160 responses from the UK and overseas, including responses from a range of industry sectors and from civil society. The government is considering the evidence to inform policy decisions and will respond in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Court of Protection

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the difficulty of appointing a Court of Protection deputy for those people whose assets are so low that professional private sector deputies consider that their estate is insufficient to meet their costs.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to providing legal aid to people who require a Court of Protection deputy but whose assets are so low that professional private sector deputies consider that their estate is insufficient to meet their costs.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on access to justice for vulnerable people of local authorities, charities and advice agencies being unable to apply for a Court of Protection panel deputy for those whose assets are so low that professional private sector deputies consider that their estate is insufficient to meet their costs.

Lord Bellamy: Most often, a deputy is a close relative or friend of the person or a local authority which is working with them rather than a private sector deputy. Additionally, in cases where the assets are low, the Court of Protection may decide that a full deputyship is not even required and may grant a one-off order.Professional private sector deputies are of course aware when they take up the role that costs are payable out of an estate and will be proportionate to the value of the assets to be managed. The role of a panel deputy is to take on cases where no other person is willing or able to act, including cases with low assets.The Department is not aware of any impact on access to justice for vulnerable people who lack capacity due to the inability of the court to appoint a family member, friend, professional private sector deputy or panel deputy to manage their affairs. Consequently, no specific assessment has been made.Legal aid is available for advice and assistance under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 subject to the applicant passing the legal aid means and merits tests. Legal Aid is not available for the ongoing costs of a professional private sector deputy.

Prisoners' Release

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving a sentence of Detention for Public Protection were released from prison in each year since 2005.

Lord Bellamy: On 16 October 2023, the Lord Chancellor announced he would be looking at options to curtail the licence period to restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences in line with recommendation 8 of the report by the Justice Select Committee (JSC) , published on 28 September 2022.These changes are being taken forward in the Victims and Prisoners Bill. The measure will make it quicker and easier to terminate the IPP licence (and therefore the IPP sentence as a whole) whilst balancing public protection considerations.The new measure will:Reduce the qualifying period which triggers the duty of the Secretary of State to refer an IPP licence to the Parole Board for termination from ten years to three years;Include a clear statutory presumption that the IPP licence will be terminated by the Parole Board at the end of the three-year qualifying period;Introduce a provision that will automatically terminate the IPP licence two years after the three-year qualifying period, in cases where the Parole Board has not terminated the licence; andIntroduce a power to amend the qualifying period by Statutory Instrument. The Lord Chancellor was persuaded by the Committee’s recommendation to reduce the qualifying licence period from 10 years to 5 years and is going further: reducing the period to 3 years. These amendments will restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences and provide a clear pathway to a definitive end to the licence and, therefore, the sentence, while balancing public protection considerations.In addition to these changes, the actions this Government are taking are working; the number of prisoners serving the IPP sentence who have never been released now stands at 1,269 as of September 2023, down from more than 6000 in 2012.Table 1: Shows the number of people sentenced to DPP that were released from prison, in each year since 2010.Release YearNumber of DPP prisoners released20105201110201221201320201416201514201622201720201812201992020102021720223Jan - June 2023 (1)4Please note:(1) Data for 2023 only include releases up to end of June 2023 - reflecting the most recent published data period.(2) Processed data are available from 2010.(3) The numbers provided in this table result from a matching between Prison National Offender Management Information System (NOMIS) data and Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) data. A total of 13 prisoners identified in the PPUD data did not have an associated NOMIS identifier. Additionally, the figures in the table only include individuals identified in NOMIS as serving IPP or DPP sentences, and also as serving a DPP sentence in PPUD data. The figures provided here are an estimate based on these two sources and as inconsistencies in recording between these two sources exist the figures should be treated with caution.(4) The above figures represent 'first releases' only, and do not include re-releases following a period of recall.(5) The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Death

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany deaths were recorded of people serving a sentence of Detention for Public Protection in each year since 2005; and of those, how many were classified as (1) homicide, (2) natural causes, (3) self-inflicted, or (4) other.

Lord Bellamy: The total number of deaths that were recorded of people serving a sentence of Detention for Public Protection in each year since 2005 under the above classifications, was two or fewer. We cannot provide further specificity without a risk of breaching our confidentiality obligations by disclosing additional information about identifiable individuals who have died. Please also note that:The underlying data includes deaths within the youth estate and during contracted out escorts.The underlying data is derived from matching between HMPPS deaths data and Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) data. A total of 13 prisoners identified in the PPUD data did not have an associated National Offender Management Information System (NOMIS) identifier. Additionally, this only includes individuals identified in NOMIS as serving IPP or DPP sentences, and also as serving a DPP sentence in PPUD data – the underlying data is an estimate based on these two sources and as inconsistencies in recording between these two sources exist it should be treated with caution.The underlying data has been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Self-Harm

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany incidents of self-harm were recorded by people serving a sentence of Detention for Public Protection in each year since 2005.

Lord Bellamy: On 16 October 2023, the Lord Chancellor announced he would be looking at options to curtail the licence period to restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences in line with recommendation 8 of the report by the Justice Select Committee (JSC), published on 28 September 2022.These changes are being taken forward in the Victims and Prisoners Bill. The measure will make it quicker and easier to terminate the IPP licence (and therefore the IPP sentence as a whole) whilst balancing public protection considerations.The new measure will:Reduce the qualifying period which triggers the duty of the Secretary of State to refer an IPP licence to the Parole Board for termination from ten years to three years;Include a clear statutory presumption that the IPP licence will be terminated by the Parole Board at the end of the three-year qualifying period;Introduce a provision that will automatically terminate the IPP licence two years after the three-year qualifying period, in cases where the Parole Board has not terminated the licence; andIntroduce a power to amend the qualifying period by Statutory Instrument. The Lord Chancellor was persuaded by the Committee’s recommendation to reduce the qualifying licence period from 10 years to 5 years and is going further: reducing the period to 3 years. These amendments will restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences and provide a clear pathway to a definitive end to the licence and, therefore, the sentence, while balancing public protection considerations.In addition to these changes, the actions this Government are taking are working; the number of prisoners serving the IPP sentence who have never been released now stands at 1,269 as of September 2023, down from more than 6000 in 2012.We have provided a breakdown of the incidents of self-harm that were recorded by people serving a sentence of Detention for Public Protection in each year since 2012 in the below table:Number of self-harm incidents by prisoners serving a sentence of Detention for Public Protection 2012 to 2022YearNumber of self-harm incidents2012962013137201416720151832016229201722620182192019348202030020213392022251 Data Sources and QualityThese figures have been drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing returns but the detail is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although shown to the last case, the figures may not be accurate to that level.(1) Figures include incidents within the youth estate and during contracted out escorts.(2) In prisons, as in the community, it is not possible to count self-harm incidents with absolute accuracy. In prison custody, however, such incidents are more likely to be detected and counted. Care needs to be taken when comparing figures shown here with other sources where data may be less complete.(3) Indeterminate sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) and Detention for Public Protection (DPP) were introduced in 2005. They were intended for high risk prisoners considered ‘dangerous’ but whose offence did not merit a life sentence. The number of prisoners held on these sentences increased initially and the increase was offset by reductions elsewhere.(4) Sentence type information is only available for a small proportion of incidents prior to 2012, so it is not possible to provide a reliable breakdown by sentence type prior to then.(5) The numbers provided in this table result from a matching between NOMIS data and Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) data. A total of 13 prisoners identified in the PPUD data did not have an associated NOMIS identifier. Additionally, the figures in the table only includes individuals identified in NOMIS as serving IPP or DPP sentences, and also as serving a DPP sentence in PPUD data. The figures provided here are an estimate based on these two sources and as inconsistencies in recording between these two sources exist the figures should be treated with caution.(6) Includes known DPPs in prison regardless of whether they are unreleased or have been recalled, or if they have subsequently been resentenced.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: Death

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence have died in secure mental health facilities.

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the deaths of prisoners serving an imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence in secure mental health facilities are included in overall figures of deaths of IPP prisoners, published by the HM Prison and Probation Service.

Lord Bellamy: On 16 October 2023, the Lord Chancellor announced he would be looking at options to curtail the licence period to restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences in line with recommendation 8 of the report by the Justice Select Committee (JSC), published on 28 September 2022.These changes are being taken forward in the Victims and Prisoners Bill. The measure will make it quicker and easier to terminate the IPP licence (and therefore the IPP sentence as a whole) whilst balancing public protection considerations.The new measure will:Reduce the qualifying period which triggers the duty of the Secretary of State to refer an IPP licence to the Parole Board for termination from ten years to three years;Include a clear statutory presumption that the IPP licence will be terminated by the Parole Board at the end of the three-year qualifying period;Introduce a provision that will automatically terminate the IPP licence two years after the three-year qualifying period, in cases where the Parole Board has not terminated the licence; andIntroduce a power to amend the qualifying period by Statutory Instrument.The Lord Chancellor was persuaded by the Committee’s recommendation to reduce the qualifying licence period from 10 years to 5 years and is going further: reducing the period to 3 years. These amendments will restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences and provide a clear pathway to a definitive end to the licence and, therefore, the sentence, while balancing public protection considerations.There were 18 deaths of those serving IPP sentences in secure hospitals, up to 31 December 2022.Please Note:(1) Data is only available from 2009 onwards.(2) Figures have been taken from a subset of published data in the Restricted Patients Statistical Bulletin, which has been published up to 31 December 2022.(3) The data relates to all deaths, including natural causes and self-inflicted.(4) Some cases may have ongoing investigations to determine the cause of death.HMPPS publishes quarterly Safety in Custody statistics which cover deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody, in England and Wales. These published statistics do not include the death of those in secure mental health facilities.

Prisoners

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany people sentenced to Detention for Public Protection were (1) in prison having never been released, (2) in prison having been recalled, and (3) in the community on licence, in each of the most recent four quarters.

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people sentenced to Detention for Public Protection are currently over their tariff and remain in prison having never been released by (1) original tariff length, and (2) time over tariff.

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany people serving a sentence of Detention for Public Protection were recalled to prison in each year since 2005.

Lord Bellamy: On 16 October 2023, the Lord Chancellor announced he would be looking at options to curtail the licence period to restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences in line with recommendation 8 of the report by the Justice Select Committee (JSC), published on 28 September 2022.These changes are being taken forward in the Victims and Prisoners Bill. The measure will make it quicker and easier to terminate the IPP licence (and therefore the IPP sentence as a whole) whilst balancing public protection considerations.The new measure will:Reduce the qualifying period which triggers the duty of the Secretary of State to refer an IPP licence to the Parole Board for termination from ten years to three years;Include a clear statutory presumption that the IPP licence will be terminated by the Parole Board at the end of the three-year qualifying period;Introduce a provision that will automatically terminate the IPP licence two years after the three-year qualifying period, in cases where the Parole Board has not terminated the licence; andIntroduce a power to amend the qualifying period by Statutory Instrument.The Lord Chancellor was persuaded by the Committee’s recommendation to reduce the qualifying licence period from 10 years to 5 years and is going further: reducing the period to 3 years. These amendments will restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences and provide a clear pathway to a definitive end to the licence and, therefore, the sentence, while balancing public protection considerations.In addition to these changes, the actions this Government are taking are working; the number of prisoners serving the IPP sentence who have never been released now stands at 1,269 as of September 2023, down from more than 6000 in 2012.Table 1: Number of people sentenced to DPP that were (1) in prison having never been released, (2) in prison having been recalled, in each of the most recent four quarters of available data. 31 Dec 202231 Mar 202330 Jun 202330 Sep 2023(1) in prison having never been released41363736(2) in prison having been recalled43424449Table 2: (3) the number of people sentenced to DPP that were in the community on licence, in each of the most recent four quarters of available data. 30 Sep 202231 Dec 202231 Mar 202330 Jun 2023(3) in the community on licence9910210199Table 3: Tariff-expired unreleased DPP prisoner population by original tariff length and time over tariff, 30 September 2023.Time over tariffOriginal Tariff lengthTotalLess than 2 years2 years to less than or equal to 4 yearsGreater than 4 years to less than or equal to 6 yearsLess than 5 years0000From 5 years to less than 6 years00**From 6 years to less than 7 years00**From 7 years to less than 8 years0**4From 8 years to less than 9 years0404From 9 years to less than 10 years00**From 10 years to less than 11 years***5From 11 years to less than 12 years***5From 12 years to less than 13 years0**4From 13 years to less than 14 years00**From 14 years to less than 15 years**0*15 years or more**06Total9131436Please note:(1) The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.(2) An asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of one or two. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient.Table 4: Number of people serving a DPP sentence that were recalled to prison, in each year since 2010.Recall YearNumber of Recalls2010120116201242013132014920155201616201718201822201916202020202121202214202313*Please note:(1) The table gives the number of recalls and not the number of individuals recalled in each year. Recording of unique IDs has not been complete throughout these years, so we are unable to give an accurate count of unique individuals recalled from 2010(2) Processed data are available from 2010.(*) Figures for 2023 are for the first two quarters only.

Parole

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence were eligible for a review of their licence, in each quarter since 2021; and of those how many referrals were made to the Parole Board for review.

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government how many hearings were held by the Parole Board to review an imprisonment for public protection licence, in each quarter since 2021, and of those how many resulted in (1) termination of the licence, (2) variation of licence conditions, or (3) no change to licence conditions.

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence were (1) transferred from prison to a secure hospital, and (2) held in a secure hospital, in each year since 2005.

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government, of those currently serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence in prison, how many have been held in a secure hospital at any point during their sentence, and are (1) unreleased or (2) have been recalled.

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government, of those currently serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence on licence in the community, how many have been held in a secure hospital at any point during their sentence.

Lord Moylan: To ask His Majesty's Government, of those currently serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence in (1) prison, or (2) the community, how many are (a) eligible for support, and (b) receiving support, under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Lord Bellamy: Where 10 years have elapsed since the Parole Board first directed the release of an offender serving a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP), the Secretary of State must by law refer that offender to the Parole Board, in order for the Board to determine whether to terminate the offender’s IPP licence. The minimum 10-year period is not paused or reset if an offender is recalled to prison or serves a subsequent sentence for further offences. Where the Board does not terminate the licence, the Secretary of State must by law re-refer the offender every 12 months. This ensures that every eligible offender is considered by the Parole Board annually and will enable the IPP licence, and the IPP sentence as a whole, to be brought to a definitive end for more offenders.On 16 October 2023, the Lord Chancellor announced he would be looking at options to curtail the licence period to restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences in line with recommendation 8 of the report by the Justice Select Committee’ (JSC) report, published on 28 September 2022.These changes are being taken forward in the Victims and Prisoners Bill.The new measure will:Reduce the qualifying period which triggers the duty of the Secretary of State to refer an IPP licence to the Parole Board for termination from ten years to three years;Include a clear statutory presumption that the IPP licence will be terminated by the Parole Board at the end of the three-year qualifying period;Introduce a provision that will automatically terminate the IPP licence two years after the three-year qualifying period, in cases where the Parole Board has not terminated the licence; andIntroduce a power to amend the qualifying period by Statutory Instrument. The Lord Chancellor was persuaded by the Committee’s recommendation to reduce the qualifying licence period from 10 years to 5 years and is going further: reducing the period to 3 years. These amendments will restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences and provide a clear pathway to a definitive end to the licence and, therefore, the sentence.In addition to these changes, the actions this Government are taking are working; the number of prisoners serving the IPP sentence who have never been released now stands at 1,269 as of September 2023, down from more than 6000 in 2012.Table 1: Shows the number of offenders serving an IPP sentence under pre- and post-release supervision who are eligible to be considered for termination of their licence, at end of period, December 2020 to June 2023, England and Wales.PeriodEligible2021 Q11872021 Q22372021 Q32992021 Q43912022 Q14772022 Q25712022 Q36622022 Q47692023 Q18422023 Q2945Please Note:(1) This table includes IPP offenders who have been returned to custody following a recall.(2) The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.Table 2: Shows the number of cases referred to the Parole BoardPeriodReferrals2021 Q122021 Q282021 Q332021 Q492022 Q1462022 Q2422022 Q3722022 Q4692023 Q1832023 Q2147Please Note:(1) Figures could contain cases where the offender became eligible for licence termination in previous quarter.(2) Figures from Table 1 are snapshot figures and are not comparable to figures in Table 2 Table 3: Shows the outcomes of licence termination applications in each quarter since 2021.Outcome PeriodTerminatedSuspended/ VariedRefused2021 Q11012021 Q23002021 Q33122021 Q44022022 Q1215102022 Q2257122022 Q3228182022 Q4286462023 Q1256232023 Q2381472Table 4: Shows the number of people serving an IPP sentence that were transferred from prison to a secure hospital, and held in a secure hospital, in each year, since 2009YearNumber of transfers in the yearPopulation in Secure Hospital at end of year20095447220101074672011100438201286380201390326201488264201572274201666274201759278201865282201959276202055275202139287202244262Please Note:(1) We do not hold figures prior to 2009 as the data entry system which holds these data was implemented in 2009 and data prior to this period are not of sufficient quality to allow for the breakdown requested.(2) The number of transfers is not the same as number of offenders transferred as there could be more than one transfer associated with an offender in a year.(3) These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Consequently, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.The information requested for HL236 and HL237 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The information for HL238 is not held centrally.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing Completions

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask His Majesty's Government how many new homes were completed each year since 2005 for which figures are available.

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask His Majesty's Government how many new homes have been created each year since 2005 for which figures are available,broken down between (1) flats, and (2) houses.

Baroness Penn: The department publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply, with estimates of new homes delivered, in each financial year shown in Table 1 below.Table 1. Housing Supply Net Additional Dwellings, England, 2004-05 to 2021-221. 2004-051855532005-062026532006-072149362007-082235342008-091827672009-101448702010-111373942011-121348962012-131247222013-141366052014-151706932015-161896452016-172173452017-182222812018-192418772019-202427022020-212118652021-22232816 Source: Live Table 122,123 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-net-supply-of-housing1 Net additional dwellings includes new builds but also dwellings supplied through conversions of existing buildings, change of existing buildings use, other gains/losses, offset by demolitions. The detail, with each component, is published in Live Table 123. Estimates of the number of new homes delivered, broken down by flats or houses, are not centrally collected.Estimates of the proportion of building control reported new build dwelling completions by flats or houses for England, in each financial year, are shown in Table 2 below. These cover new build dwellings only and should be regarded as a leading indicator of overall housing supply.Table 2. Housebuilding: Percentage of permanent dwellings completed, by house and flats, England, 2004-05 to 2021-222.  HouseFlats2004-0559412005-0654462006-0753472007-0852482008-0950502009-1055452010-1165352011-1264362012-1367332013-1471292014-1575252015-1677232016-1775252017-1877232018-1978222019-2080202020-2181192021-2283172022-238218  Source: Live Table 254 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building2. Approximately half of the data used to produce the house building statistics are supplied by the National House-Building Council. These data contain additional detail on the size and type of new homes being completed and can be used to provide annual estimates of the proportion of new build dwellings that are houses as opposed to flats. The caveat is that these estimates are indicative only, as based on just 1 of the 3 sources of building control data (Local Authority Building Control, Independent Approved Inspectors and National House Building Council Data).

Members: Correspondence

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government when if at all they intend to reply to the letter dated 15 September from Lord Berkeley to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the Leader of the House of Commons, regarding the governance of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and similar bodies established by Royal Charter, which called for such bodies to publish and maintain their professional standards, monitor those members using them, and sanction those members who have failed to comply with them.

Baroness Penn: Unfortunately, the department has no record of receiving the letter prior to 22 November. The department will endeavour to respond as soon as possible.

Local Plans

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Swinburne on 25 September (HL10097), what steps they have taken to ensure that local authorities have up to date local plans in place; and how many authorities are yet to submit their plans.

Baroness Penn: The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that up-to-date local plans should provide a framework for addressing housing needs and other economic, social and environmental priorities.As of the end of October 2023, 326 local planning authorities have an adopted local plan (under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004). 219 local planning authorities have an adopted local plan that is over five years old, of which 91 have begun a consultation on a new plan and 43 have submitted a new local plan for examination. 12 have no adopted local plan, of which 5 have submitted their first local plan for examination.The Government’s priority for getting up to date plans in place has not changed and we have been clear that local planning authorities should continue to progress their plans.The Government funds the Planning Advisory Service which has a team of planning specialists who can give advice and support to local planning authorities on the local plan process.

Department for Education

Schools: Attendance

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of current rates of absences in (1) severely absent, and (2) persistently absent, school pupils; and how this compares to pre-pandemic absences; what steps they are taking to reduce absence rates; and what assessment they have made of the correlation between both categories and future criminal convictions.

Baroness Barran: Improving attendance is a priority for the government. The department is implementing a comprehensive attendance strategy to tackle unacceptably high rates of persistent and severe absence and return to pre-pandemic levels or better as soon as possible.Census data from the 2018/19 academic year show that, pre-pandemic, 10.9% of school aged children were persistently absent and 0.8% were severely absent, compared with 22.5% for persistent absence and 1.7% for severe absence in 2021/22. The data from 2021/22 also show that illness was the major driver of overall absence, at 4.4% across the academic year.To address the issue, the department has published guidance encouraging all schools and local authorities to adopt the practices of the most effective. Schools are now expected to publish an attendance policy and appoint an attendance champion. Local authorities are expected to meet termly with schools to agree individual plans for at-risk children.The department’s attendance hubs now support 800 schools benefiting over 400,000 pupils. 86% of schools subscribe to the department’s data tool to spot at-risk pupils. Recent data show that the department is making progress, with around 380,000 fewer children persistently not in school in 2022/23 compared to 2021/22.On links to crime, Ministry of Justice and Department for Education data show that while a high percentage of children cautioned or sentenced for a serious violence offence had ever been persistently absent, only a small percentage of children who had ever been persistently absent were children who were cautioned or sentenced for these offences. Analysis shows that persistent absence for unauthorised reasons and severe absence were not strong predictors of being cautioned or sentenced for a serious violence offence, when holding other factors constant.The department is investing over £50 million in serious violence hotspots to fund specialist support in both mainstream and Alternative Provision (AP) schools through its AP Specialist Taskforces and ‘Support, Attain, Fulfil, Exceed’ programmes.The department also works closely with Chief Constable Catherine Roper, who holds the National Police Chiefs’ Council Children and Young People portfolio, through the Attendance Action Alliance. Further information on the alliance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/attendance-alliance-group.

Family Hubs

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what level of accountability local authorities have to His Majesty's Government to ensure that they are meeting the expectation of partnering with the voluntary, community and faith sector in implementing family hubs.

Baroness Barran: I refer The Lord Bishop of Durham, to the answer of 17 November 2023 to Question HL27. Guidance to local authorities participating in the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme sets an expectation that those local authorities partner with voluntary and faith organisations, as part of their family hub model. All local authorities which are part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme have the support of a Regional Delivery Lead and a Regional Delivery Expert Advisor to work with them on this transformation. Local authorities report on their progress against the service expectations, including those relating to voluntary, community and faith groups, through regular meetings between local authorities and their Regional Delivery Leads as part of our assurance process.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

National Underground Asset Register

Lord Cameron of Dillington: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to developing a publicly accessible database on the UK’s subsurface to optimise understanding of it.

Viscount Camrose: The subsurface enables a wide range of essential services that underpin our economy and society. The Government continues to invest to develop our understanding of the subsurface, for example:The British Geological Survey provide access to nationally significant subsurface data to support planning and the energy transition.The Geospatial Commission’s emerging National Underground Asset Register, a revolutionary digital map of underground pipes and cables, is expected to grow the economy by £5bn over the next decade.The Government Office for Science’s ‘Future of the Subsurface’ project is exploring current and future uses of the spaces beneath our feet.

Cabinet Office

Storms

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the effects and damage across the country of Storm Debi.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Storm Debi brought strong winds to parts of north Wales and northern England on Monday 13th November. The strongest winds and rain were felt in the Republic of Ireland, leading Met Éireann - the Irish Met service - to name the weather system. There were no impacts in England from Storm Debi that required national response. Localised, short-lived impacts were managed by the relevant Local Resilience Forums and emergency services. The Cabinet Office, as the Lead Government Department for severe storms, maintained close contact with the Met Office and stood ready to respond for the duration of the storm.

Ministers: Pay

Lord Grocott: To ask His Majesty's Government which members of His Majesty's Government are not in receipt of a ministerial salary.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The full list of ministers can be found on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-november-2023The ministers currently appointed who are not in receipt of a ministerial salary are: Richard Holden MP, Rt Hon John Glen MP, Baroness Nevile-Rolfe DBE CMG, Lord Ahmad, Rt Hon Lord Benyon, the Earl of Minto, Lord Bellamy KC, Rt Hon Sir John Whittingdale OBE MP, Andrew Griffith MP, Viscount Camrose, Lord Markham CBE, Rt Hon Earl Howe CBE, Lord Johnson CBE, Lord Offord of Garvel, Baroness Barran MBE, and Baroness Swinburne.

Ministers: Pay

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the salaries and allowances of each of the Ministers and Whips in the House of Lords.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Details of the salaries and allowances currently paid to Ministers at different ranks can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-salary-dataThis will be updated in due course.The full list of ministers can be found on gov.uk at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-november-2023The ministers and whips in the House of Lords currently appointed and not in receipt of a ministerial salary are: Baroness Nevile-Rolfe DBE CMG, Lord Ahmad, Rt Hon Lord Benyon, the Earl of Minto, Lord Bellamy KC, Viscount Camrose, Lord Markham CBE, Rt Hon Earl Howe GBE, Lord Johnson CBE, Lord Offord of Garvel, Baroness Barran MBE, and Baroness Swinburne.

Ministry of Defence

Army: Recruitment

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they collect data on the reading ages of new army recruits under the age of 18; and if so, what those data indicate.

The Earl of Minto: The Army does not collect data and centrally record the reading ages of all new Army recruits under the age of 18. It does collect the scores of the ‘Functional Skills Literacy Assessment’ which show the following for all under-18 recruits in Recruiting Year 2022-23:[1] FS Score Percentage of U18 recruits 2022-23Entry Level 28%Entry Level 327%Exempt27%Level 125%Level 213% These Functional Skills levels are based on the 2011 Skills for Life Survey: ASurvey of Literacy, Numeracy and ICT Levels in England: 2011 Skills for Life Survey: A Survey of Literacy, Numeracy and ICT Levels in England (publishing.service.gov.uk). The majority of under-18 recruits complete Basic Training at the Army Foundation College (Harrogate) where 100% leave with a GCSE equivalent in English. [1] Recruiting year runs from April - March

Army: Recruitment

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government when the British Army most recently evaluated the feasibility of a transition to all-adult recruitment; and what the findings of any such evaluation were.

The Earl of Minto: The last evaluation specifically focussed on transitioning to all-adult recruitment was the 2019 Junior Entry Review whereby the two non-enlistment options for under-18s were rejected, due to expected negative implications on the Army's overall strength and operational effectiveness. A more recent evaluation has been conducted exploring bespoke Terms of Service for under-18s.British Army Terms of Service are routinely reviewed to ensure best practice and operational effectiveness.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the success of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund in driving decarbonisation in the social housing sector.

Lord Callanan: The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 1 and 2.1 aim to install energy efficiency measures in up to 20,000 and 90,000 homes respectively. The latest statistics capturing progress across the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) are published on GOV.UK. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) commissioned an independent evaluation of the implementation, effectiveness and value for money of the SHDF Demonstrator. Final findings will be published in due course. DESNZ has also commissioned evaluation reports for SHDF Wave 1 and 2.1. The first interim report will be published later in financial year 2024/25.

Carbon Emissions: Technology

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of R&D investment in net zero technologies; and what steps they are taking to measure the outcomes from that investment.

Lord Callanan: Research and development (R&D) is critical for reaching net zero by 2050 and the government is investing £4.2 billion in net zero R&D over 2022-2025. This will support the development of the technologies and solutions needed to deliver the UK’s net zero target and to support innovative UK businesses to benefit from the growing global green economy. The Net Zero Research and Innovation Delivery Plan published in March 2023 sets out the details of this investment and an update on progress is planned to be published in 2025.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking tosupport long-term investment in the necessary infrastructure for floating offshore wind and to help reduce the risk of investing in the UK's ports.

Lord Callanan: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is delivering the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS), worth up to £160 million, to support investment in the port infrastructure needed to deploy large-scale floating offshore wind turbines. The Government is also working closely with representatives of the port industry to develop a shared understanding of the barriers to port investment and identify the most appropriate future levers to overcome them.

Geothermal Power

Lord Cameron of Dillington: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they are taking to (1) implement a national framework for the licensing of land for geothermal drilling, and (2) streamline permissions to enable geothermal drilling to take place.

Lord Callanan: There are currently no plans to license and streamline geothermal drilling, however, Officials will review the case for a comprehensive geothermal licensing regime as the sector develops. The Government is pleased to see that three geothermal power projects were successful in this year’s contracts for difference auction.